Look. Ed! , an exhibition which approaches the oeuvre of Ed van der Elsken from a new point of view. Annet Gelink asked the three most prominent female Dutch artists to make a selection of works by Ed van der Elsken and asked Jhim Lamoree to put the show together. The three artists, Rineke Dijkstra, Marlene Dumas, and Marijke van Warmerdam, each use photography in their work in different ways. Dumas uses photography as an inspiration for her paintings; Dijkstra creates series with her photographic portraits that give insights into specific cultural subgroups; for Van Warmerdam, photography is just one of the many available mediums which she uses to create her works. Ed van der Elsken used his camera as a means with which to explore the world, document it and interpret it. As he mentioned, in an interview for ‘Vrij Nederland’ in January 1987, he tried to capture the universal human element with pathos and style.
Look. Ed! emphasizes the variety that can be found in Van der Elsken’s
oeuvre. Dijkstra, Dumas and Van Warmerdam have each made their own
selection which provide interesting insights on Van der Elsken and the
three artists. Jhim Lamoree: “Ed van der Elsken’s photographs had a
range of expression, and the selections made by Marlene Dumas, Rineke
Dijkstra and Marijke van Warmerdam attest to this. Each was drawn to a
different aspect of his work. They, too, observed and made choices. The
connection between Ed, Marlene, Marijke and Rineke is their ability to
seek out the other without losing sight of, or a sense of, themselves.
They size up the world in a humane, personal manner. Their attitude is
similar, but the aesthetic results of each differ entirely. The
selections cause an intriguing and enigmatic doubling to occur: the
show not only gives a varied portrait of Ed’s oeuvre, but also a
self-portrait of the oeuvres of Marlene, Marijke en Rineke.”
In Look. Ed!, Annet Gelink with her co-curator Jhim Lamoree have created an exhibition that looks at Ed
van der Elsken’s works from a new perspective. Through the selections of Dijkstra, Dumas and Van
Warmerdam a new vision comes to light on an oeuvre that will be familiar to many. Fitting indeed for a
photographer who always had an open eye for anything new.
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